When Willie Comes Marching Home

During World War II, a young musician (Dan Dailey) enlists in the Army eager for combat, only to wind up stationed in his hometown.

When Willie Comes Marching Home is something of an oddity for director John Ford’s later career, in that it’s a comedy.

Lead Dan Dailey is fine, if a bit unendearing as something of a lug-head. The rest of the cast is also passable, with the only standout being Corinne Calvet in a small, but memorable role as the leader of a French Resistance movement.

For his part, Ford seems much more comfortable with the action elements then with the comedy, bringing a real sense of drama to the film’s later proceedings.

The film’s biggest problem is that the script by Richard Sale just isn’t that funny. Full of reoccurring gags, it thankfully avoids “screwball” humor and, to some extent, physical comedy, but lacks the finesse that a great writer like Billy Wilder would bring to the material. But in Sale’s defense, he doesn’t wear out his welcome, wrapping things up in a brief 82 minutes.

Perhaps, were Billy Wilder behind the camera and Jack Lemmon in front, When Willie Comes Marching Home might have been a classic, but as is, it’s merely underwhelming.